Category Archives: Local

Health and Lifestyle, Local

COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to grow in King County

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) King County appears to be destined to fall back to Phase 2 as COVID cases grew to 229 per 100,000 and hospitalizations increased to 5.5 per 100,000 in the latest data released from King County Health. To stay in Phase 3, new cases must be below 200 per 100,000 and hospitalizations below 5.0. The hospitalization number is most troubling, growing more than 25% from 4.3 per 100,000 to 5.5 in a little more than a week.

King County Health COVID dashboard indicates that cases start to increase after the county moved to Phase 3

COVID hospitalization and infection rates haven’t been this high since January, and the upward trend is similar to the third wave that tore through the state in November 2020. The majority of hospitalizations due to COVID are for those under 50 years old, with 40% of hospitalizations for people under 40 years old. Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland saw COVID hospitalizations increase 19% overnight. Despite younger and perceived healthier people being hospitalized, many with the B.1.1.7 U.K variant, the state mortality rate is 1.4%.

King County Health reports that almost 61% of county residents have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 39% are fully vaccinated. Both King and Pierce counties are reporting thousands of available slots for vaccination for anyone over 16 without an appointment. Lumen Field and Seattle and the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma are mass vaccination sites with excess capacity.

The CDC announced new guidelines today on masks, saying vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a mask outside unless they are in a large group setting. A quick survey around Kirkland and Bellevue showed high mask compliance outdoors, despite the change in guidance.

A move back to Phase 2 would reduce the capacity inside restaurants, bars, gyms, yoga studios, and other retailers from 50% to 25%. It would cause the closure of public entertainment facilities such as theaters and performance centers and could cause the closure of T-Mobile Park, just as the Mariners have started play.

Pierce County dropped back to Phase 2 on April 16, and restaurants are reporting a 25% drop in business while foot traffic is also down.

The challenges in Washington state are not unique, with Oregon experiencing its own surge. The CDC COVID data tracker indicates that the entire eastern seaboard except Georgia is experiencing widespread transmission. Hospital utilization by COVID patients is trending high in eastern Massachusetts, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, south Florida, Houston, southern California, southeast Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Portland, and the metro Seattle area.

Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa are showing a significant surge in new cases reporting in the last 7 days.

BIPOC, Local

Eastside Restaurant Week extended to Tuesday

[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Eastside Restaurant Week has been so successful that organizers have added Tuesday, April 27, with a $500 prize for one person with a craving for takeout.

Organizers have made Tuesday another BIPOC and women-owned restaurant day. A lucky diner will receive a $500 gift card for highlighting their breakfast, lunch, dinner, or after sunset Ramadan delight. To participate, you need to visit a Black, indigenous, person of color, or women-owned restaurant, get takeout and post a picture of your meal using the hashtag #eastsideeats. Images need to be posted publicly on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to be entered.

All restaurants are participants in Eastside Restaurant Week, from Bothell to Duvall to Black Diamond to Renton. Unlike other restaurant weeks, restaurants are not creating special menus – instead, this program created by Eastside Restaurant Support in cooperation with ten Chamber of Commerce through the eastside supports the struggling restaurant community.

If you need some inspiration for a restaurant to visit, we’ve created a list for you:

  • Acas Los Tortas – Bothell
  • Altha’s Louisiana Cajun Store and Deli – Kent
  • Ascend Prime – Bellevue
  • Belden Cafe – Bellevue
  • Belle Pastry – Bellevue
  • Bobae USA – Woodinville
  • Boon Boona – Renton
  • The Box & Burgers Eatery – Kirkland
  • Cafe Pogacha – Bellevue
  • Capri Cellars – Issaquah
  • Carolina Smoke BBQ – Bothell
  • Casa Ricardo’s – Kirkland
  • Castilla Restaurant and Tapas Bar – Bellevue
  • Cielo Cocina Mexicana – Bellevue
  • Cleo’s Kitchen – Bellevue
  • Copper Kettle – Bellevue
  • Dat Creole Soul – Kent
  • Ezell’s Famous Fried Chicken – multiple locations
  • Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant – Bellevue
  • Factory Donuts – Kirkland
  • FogRose Atelier – Bellevue
  • Hapa Food Truck – Woodinville and Bellevue
  • Heritage – Woodinville
  • Izumi – Kirkland
  • JB Bungalow – Kirkland
  • Japonessa – Bellevue
  • Juba – Renton
  • KJ’s Cakery Bakery Sweet Shop – Kent
  • Kathakali – Kirkland
  • Kirkland Sushi – Kirkland
  • Kringles Bakery – Redmond
  • Lady Yum – Kirkland
  • Lilac Cafe – Kirkland
  • Llama Fusion Food Truck – Kirkland – Juanita
  • Longevity Foods – Duvall
  • Lynn’s Bistro – Kirkland
  • Metier Brewing Company – Woodinville
  • Naija Buka – Kent
  • Nana’s Kitchen – Kent
  • Nicolino’s – Issaquah 
  • Orenji Sushi & Noodles – Issaquah
  • Pickney Cookie Cafe – Kirkland
  • Pie Bar Food Truck – Kirkland
  • Red Bamboo Bistro – Renton
  • Ricardo’s – Factoria
  • Royal India – Kirkland
  • Saimin Says – Renton
  • Seattle Cinnamon Roll Company – Woodinville
  • Shaburina – Bellevue
  • Tacos Guaymas – Multiple locations
  • The Slip – Kirkland
  • Top Gun – Factoria
  • Voltera – Kirkland
  • Vovina – Kirkland
  • The Wine Alley – Renton
Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

BREAKING: King County COVID metrics exceed requirements to stay in Phase 3

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) The April 26 COVID update from King County Health Department is out and indicates the region no longer qualifies to stay in Phase 3 reopening. In the latest updated King County is reporting 226.0 cases per 100,000, and 5.2 hospitalizations per 100,000. To remain in Phase 3, the county cannot exceed 200 cases per 100,000 and 4.9 hospitalizations.

The numbers back an alarming trend as regional hospitals report a significant increase in COVID patients. Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, once ground zero for coronavirus in the United States, is reporting 13 patients. Overlake in Bellevue has seen a sharp increase in hospitalizations.

The Washington State Department of Health is reporting 484 hospitalized statewide, the highest level since January. Health officials stated that 40% of hospitalized patients are under 40 years old, and many are sickened by COVID variants. The U.K. variant is replacing the dominant strain. The B.1.1.7 strain is more contagious, virulent, and targets younger adults.

Moving back to Phase 2 will drop restaurant occupancy to 25%, and could result in the closure of movie theaters and sports arenas such as T-Mobile Park.

Snohomish County is also at risk of moving back to Phase 2, and Pierce County, which dropped to Phase 2 on April 16, has seen its metrics get worse.

Experts state that a number of factors are converging to push Washington into the fourth surge of COVD infections. COVID fatigue with social distancing and masks, the reintroduction of in-class teaching, better weather, vaccination hesitancy, and more contagious variants have combined to increase cases across the state.

The next evaluation by the state for if King and Snohomish County will move back to Phase 2 is on May, 2.

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local

SPD officers in Washington, D.C. during January 6 insurrection tentatively identified

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[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Researchers have tentatively identified the names and backgrounds of the 6 Seattle police officers who attended the Stop the Steal rally that devolved into an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election. Crosscut and our researchers had identified three officers previously.

The six Seattle police officers who allegedly were in Washington, D.C., during the insurrection are:

  • Scotty Bach, Acting Lieutenant through January 6, 2021, now listed as Sergeant
  • Jacob Briskey, Sergeant, K9 Officer
  • Alexander Everett, Officer, previously identified
  • Jason Marchione, Officer, previously identified by Crosscut
  • Caitlin Rochelle, Officer, previously identified 
  • Michael Settle, Vice Unit, Acting Sergeant

SPD listed Scotty Bach as an Acting Police Lieutenant assigned to the Southwest Precinct on October 15, 2020. The data shows he was an Acting Lieutenant through January 6, 2021, and returned to the rank of Sergeant on January 7. Bach is currently under investigation by the OPA for three separate incidents. 

Sergeant Jacob Briskey has been the subject of multiple uses of force complaints, and the city of Seatle had to pay a $269,000 settlement in 2009. In that case, Romelle Bradford sued for being wrongly arrested by Briskey and being “roughed up,” per a Seattle Times report in 2008. The city appealed the finding and ultimately lost the case.

Alexander Everett and Caitlin Rochelle were previously identified as a married couple who went to the January 6 Stop the Steal Rally. Acting Chief Diaz suspended the couple with pay after other officers came forward and reported their activity in Washington, D.C. They were married in December 2020, and it is reported that the trip to hear Donald Trump speak was their honeymoon. 

Jason Marchione is assigned to the South Precinct, and Crosscut previously revealed his attendance at the insurrection on January 6. Marchione and Rochelle are coworkers who work on the same shift. Marchione has had six OPA complaints since he started with SPD in 2017, and almost half of the use of force claims against the officer have been made by Black people. In one case, a Black man claims that Marchione broke the man’s wrist during a “hard takedown.”

Michael Settle is an Acting Police Sergeant Detective specializing in human trafficking. Little is know about Settle beyond a single investigation in 2010. 

A court hearing was initially scheduled for April 2, 2021, to review a temporary injunction, but that hearing was declared moot. 

Andrew Myerberg, the director of the OPA, told NPR, that officers are entitled to their political views, and the investigation will look into whether SPD policy was violated. The OPA added that if the officers committed federal crimes, they would work together with federal investigators.

The OPA has 180 days to release its findings of the officer’s activities to the public. Those results would be published in June and early July of 2021.

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local, National

EXCLUSIVE: Twitch employee uses work account to spread racist messages during Derek Chauvin verdict

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) An employee of Twitch used their official work account repeatedly to express racist views after the Derek Chauvin verdict on the company’s platform. Twitch is primarily used as a platform to watch others play video games; it has become popular with content creators on many topics, including the arts, music, podcasting, news, and politics. Seattle-based Amazon purchased Twitch in 2014. 

On April 20, 2021, the Twitch channel PTNewsNetwork, headed by Stephen Oatley, covered the Derek Chauvin verdict live. During the stream, a user with the screen name usctrojans117 made multiple comments. The white wrench icon indicates that the user is an employee of Twitch, using their work account.

Among the comments made in the moments after the verdict was read:

“#all_lives_matter”

“oh protests in Chicago where white people get killed EVERY DAY”

“The jury was scared to actually give him a fair trial and fair verdict”

“The rioters are going to riot, [sic] irregardless of the verdict”

“He had enough drugs in his system to kill someone, and one of the side effects of the drugs is restricted breathing, show heart rate, etc.”

“Because people will find any reason to riot and they want the country to implode…and for chaos to ensue and always be present”

“Yeah, let’s see about those ‘peaceful’ protests.”

Malcontent News reached out to Twitch multiple times for comment, but there was no response from their press team. There is no information if Amazon or Twitch is investigating the employee or speaking on behalf of Twitch and Amazon when they wrote these comments using their work account.

Oatley expressed outrage at the verdict and ended his stream.

The idea jurors were intimidated into a guilty verdict has been widely dismissed, including by far-right voices such as Jeannie Pirro of Fox News and local news personality Brandi Kruse. Evidence presented by multiple experts at the trial also rejected the idea that Floyd had lethal amounts of drugs in his system, nor did he display any of the symptoms of someone experiencing an overdose. 

The nation was largely peaceful after the verdict was read, with only a couple of arrests in Seattle and some property destruction in Portland. Outside of the courthouse in Minneapolis and George Floyd Square, celebrations turned into quiet memorials and marches. Right-wing news sites tried to connect pictures of Chitt Week at Ohio State University with riots after the verdict. 

Content creators have the option to allow comments during their stream, who can comment, and when they can comment. Historically, the gaming community was wrestled with misogyny, doxxing, and swatting. Like other social media platforms, Twitch has been grappling with the spread of misinformation and extremist ideology while balancing First Amendment rights. 

Breaking News, Local

16-year-old shot to death in Rainier Beach

Gallery

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Seattle police reported a 16-year-old Rainier Beach teen was shot and killed at his family home after answering a knock at the front door.

Around 11:00 p.m., 911 received a call about a shooting in the 9200 block of Waters Avenue South. According to witnesses, the suspect knocked on the door of the residence, and the teen went to answer it. Upon opening the door the suspect shot the victim multiple times and fled on foot.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”43″ gal_title=”Rainer Beach Homicide”]

The victim, who has not been named, was declared dead at the scene.

Acting Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

“This is the second juvenile that has been shot in the past month, and we’re just figuring out ways to stop this violence.”

Renee Raketty contributed to this story.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

King County on the brink of stepping back to Phase 2

[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) The latest data indicates that King County is on the bring of falling backward to Phase 2 when the state Department of Health does their next evaluation on May 2. New cases per 100,000 are up to 217.5 and hospitalizations are 4.8. To remain in Phase 3, new cases must be below 200 per 100,000 people and hospitalizations below 5.0. According to the Department of Health, 85.4% of all ICU beds are utilized in King County, 12.2% with COVID-19 patients.

Pierce County, which moved back to Phase 2 on April 16, has not made enough progress on reversing the trend in the county. Cases are at 217.3 per 100,000 and hospitalizations are 7.2. Snohomish County is also at risk of dropping to Phase 2 next week. Hospitalizations have more than doubled since last month and new cases are 205.0 per 100,000.

Moving to Phase 2 would drop occupancy of restaurants and other facilities to 25% and could potentially end spectators at sporting events at high school, college, and professional levels.

On Friday, Dr. Jeff Durchin of King County Health explained, “King County entered Phase 3 with the rest of Washington state on March 22, at a time when cases and hospitalizations were already on the rise. Since that time, our 7-day average case numbers have risen by 70 percent, and hospitalization rates have increased by 75 percent.”

King County dashboard for April 24, 2021, at 10:00 AM

State, county, and hospital officials all echoed the same observations. New cases are mostly COVID variants such as B.1.1.7 from the United Kingdom. A majority of hospitalized patients are in their 30s and 40s and are presenting with extreme illness. One area hospital is canceling elective surgeries due to its patient load.

Currently, 36% of all King County residents are fully immunized and 57% have received at least one dose. The National Institute of Health, CDC, and other federal officials have stopped talking about achieving herd immunity, taking a more muted position due to vaccination hesitancy. The number of people being vaccinated is slowing down, with hundreds of available appointments in South King County going unused late this week.

Among the Black population of Washington, only 47% have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. Distrust in vaccination programs born out of historical medical experiments conducted by the government on Black populations has created distrust and fear.

King County can move the numbers in the right direction before the May 2 evaluation. Wearing masks even if vaccinated, limiting exposure to people, and sticking with to-go options for restaurants and alcoholic beverages can help lower the positivity rate.

BIPOC, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: April 22, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the former Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

Editors Note: There is approximately five minutes of audio problems during our segment on Pinal County Sheriff Julian Navarrette. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The show from April 22, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Brandon Hole, FedEx mass shooter exposes Bronie culture’s attachments to white nationalism
  • Perth Amboy, New Jersey and its bizarre bicycle laws
  • Killology and Dave Grossman and fear-based police training – killing in the name of…

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local

Breaking: Governor Inslee orders criminal investigation into Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer

[OLYMPIA] – (MTN) Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Friday ordered the state attorney general office to investigate Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer, and his actions on January 27, 2021, involving a Black newspaper carrier.

“The initial reports of these events were very concerning to me, and I had hoped to see some action taken to initiate a criminal investigation at the local level,” Inslee said in a written statement released Friday. “But, to my knowledge, that has not happened almost three months after the incident. So now the state is stepping in. I have spoken to Attorney General Ferguson and his office will conduct this investigation and make the decision whether to initiate prosecution.”

Due to the inaction of Tacoma Police and Pierce County, Gov. Inslee sent a letter to the Criminal Justice Division of Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office.

On January 27, 2021, Ed Troyer called 911 to report that a man had threatened to kill him and was acting suspiciously driving slowly from house to house. That man was Sedrick Altheimer, who is a newspaper carrier and was delivering papers on his route. Troyer followed Altheimer in his personal vehicle, never identified himself as a law enforcement officer, and reported he had blocked Altheimer’s vehicle.

Troyer repeated multiple times in the 911 call that he was threatened by Altheimer, and reported that he might be attempting to break into garages. Forty-two units from across Pierce County initially responded to the call, with six units arriving.

Troyer walked back his accusations when Tacoma police arrived. Tacoma police did not turn on their recently issued bodycams while talking to Troyer but did activate them when talking to Altheimer. Altheimer was never charged with a crime. When the story broke Troyer expressed surprise that a police report was even created.

The Pierce County Council voted on April 6 to pay former U.S. attorney Brian Moran $50,000 to look into Troyer’s behavior from January 2020 to January 2021 and investigate the incident with Altheimer. However, the investigator has no subpoena power and cannot put people under oath.

The January 2021 incident brought attention to a November 11, 2020, 911 call that Troyer made claiming to have confronted two Black men trying to break into his car and steal his wallet. In that incident when Tacoma police arrive Troyer brushed off the incident, and officers ultimately did not take a report. In March 2021, after the second incident occurred, the officer-involved with the November 11 911 call took an official report into that incident.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

CDC recommends lifting Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine pause

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[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Lifting the pause on the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the United States was recommended today by U.S. health regulators on Friday. A two-week review of data on over 8 million administered doses indicated that blood clot formations were extremely rare. A total of 15 significant adverse events were reported including 3 fatalities. The most recent reported fatality was a woman in Oregon, although investigators have not confirmed that her death was a result of the vaccine or other health issues.

Today’s recommendation opens the door for the one-dose J&J vaccine to be used again, once regulators confirm the CDC’s recommendation.

CDC official Sara Oliver told a panel today that approximately 26 people could suffer serious blood clots out of 10 million. However, she also reported that 1,400 deaths and 3,500 hospital admissions would also be prevented.

All of the people who experienced adverse events were born biologically as women and were from 18 to 54 years old. Some in the medical community are recommending a stronger warning for women about the extraordinarily rare risk. The panel rejected this suggestion in a second vote today.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has shown to be more effective on COVID-19 variants from Brazil, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The vaccine also has fewer reported side effects than Moderna and Pfizer, particularly for people over 55 years of age.

Disclosure: The author of this story received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.